Media Studies comparison on two music artists

1. CAREER ARTISTS (CONTRAST)
By Victor Cliff and Joel Monk

2. KANYE WEST
Kanye West is famous American
Rapper/Songwriter who was born in June
8, 1977. He started producing his music in
1996 and is still currently producing music.
Kanye West is one of the best selling music
artist of all time. He has sold more than 20
million album copies and roughly 100
million digital downloads thus making him
one of the best selling music artists.
Furthermore, he has won 21 Grammy
Awards making him have the most Grammy
Awards of an artist his age.

3. KANYE WEST EVOLUTION
Kanye West has evolved a lot since the beginning of his career. For example, he
has changed his fashion style dramatically from a classic rapper to a high end
fashion designer.

4. KANYE WEST EVOLUTION
According to fans, the majority believe that
Kanye’s music has deteriorated over the past
10 years. The diehard Kayne West fans are
more interested and listen to his older albums
such as Get Well Soon… and Freshman
Adjustment. These albums have a much more
distinctive sound to them as he is a classic rap
artist in these albums and he decides to go
down the path of deep and meaningful lyrics
as well as simple and less complicated beats.
However, his new music, as seen in his albums
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy shows
Kanye’s more productive side as he layers on
more synthesizers and different effects to
make a more modern style of music to suit the
tastes of modern day music consumers.

5. KANYE WEST STAR IMAGE
(PARADOX ONE)
As mentioned in the theories of Richard
Dyer, a star must be both present and absent
from their fans. In the picture to the right,
Kanye is seen signing one of his brand’s
shoes for a fan, showing he is present to the
fans, appearing to be easy and happy to meet
when in actual fact he does not appear in
public often for fear of being harassed.
In the picture on the right,
Kanye is seen in the studio,
showing his star image, beyond
the reach of ordinary fans. He
has frequently referred to
himself as a ‘God’ on live
television and radio, thus
adding to his image of
stardom.

6. ‘The Star must be both ordinary and extraordinary.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4C3ijlWcHM
In this link, Kanye is seen walking into a sign. This is
funny to fans as it shows Kanye as a normal person
who is capable of making mistakes and having flaws,
this proving he is certainly not the ‘God’ he refers to
himself as.
At the bottom, one can see a picture of Kanye taken
in a studio. It shows him in a black and white tone,
adding to a superstar image. He is shown to be
‘untouchable’ and ‘flawless’ in this image, not facing
the camera as to not make eye contact with the
person viewing the picture, allowing them to idolise
him, without him looking at them, thus giving him a
superstar image, conforming to the theories of
Richard Dyer.
KANYE WEST (PARADOX TWO)

7. The band “Limp Bizkit” was formed in 1994, it an an American Nu Metal and
Rap Metal band. Their band consist of:
• Fred Durst (Lead Vocals)
• John Otto (Drums)
• Wes Borland (Guitar and Backing Vocals)
• Sam Rivers (Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals)
The band has achieved a lot since their founding such as being nominated for
3 Grammy Awards and they have sold 40 million records worldwide.
LIMP BIZKIT

8. LIMP BIZKIT
Durst, the founder of Limp of Limp Bizkit created the name in order to repel
some listeners.
He said “The name is there to turn people’s heads away. A lot of people pick up
the disc and go, ‘Limp Bizkit, oh, they must suck.’ Those are the people we don’t
even want listening to our music”
During the naming process, Durst thought up of:
• Gimp Disco
• Split Dickslit
• Bitch Piglet
• Blood Fart

9. LIMP BIZKIT EVOLUTION
Firstly, many aspects of the band have changed/evolved since they began
playing in 1994.. For example, the guitarist, Wes Borland now wears a
costume. He didn’t wear this costume before.

10. LIMP BIZKIT EVOLUTION
In comparison, the lead singer of the band, Durst, has not changes a lot since
the start of the band. For example, he still wears similar clothing although he
has aged.

11. LIMP BIZKIT EVOLUTION
Limp Bizkit, on the other hand, have also evolved since their early days in
both sense of fashion and musically. Fred Durst, the lead singer, still dresses
like he did back in the day, with his signature baggy jeans and a New Era
baseball cap. Wes Boreland the guitarist started off as a regular performer, but
has since changed his style to wear masks, painted faces, leather gimp masks
and full latex outfits. This does not match the rest of the band or the music
they produce; however it gives them an interesting aesthetic when on stage.
Musically, Limp Bizkit has toned down slightly. They are still producing music
to this day over their long career. They had a distinctively organic sounds with
the, all playing their own instruments and with little to none auto tune on their
recorded tracks. They still are an organic band, but have tweaked their sound
slightly to meet the demands of the new age audience.

12. ‘The Star must be both present and absent from the lives of the fans’
LIMP BIZKIT PARADOX ONE
Limp Bizkit also conforms to Richard Dyer’s theories. On the left,
lead singer Fred Durst can be seen signing autographs for his
band outside his hotel in Los Angeles. Thus allowing him to be
shown as present in the fan’s lives.
Underneath this text, one can see a studio picture of Limp Bizkit.
A sepia tone has been added to the image to make it seem less
lifelike, adding to a superstar image. Only one member is making
eye contact with the camera, making the others seem like they are
unaware of it’s existence, showing they are absent from the lives
of fans.

13. ‘The Star must be shown to be both ordinary and extraordinary’
LIMP BIZKIT PARADOX 2
Fred Durst, lead singer of Limp Bizkit is shown in
these images to be both Ordinary and Extraordinary. In
the photo on the left, he is shown with his spouse, in a
suit with no outrageous outfit or anything of the sort.
In the image underneath, Fred is shown in a dark
twisted way, the image has been manipulated to make
him a different colour and his eyes are dark.
This makes him seem like he
is ‘other worldly’ and thus a
superstar. Hugely contrasting
the image taken on the left,
where he is shown to be
completely ordinary.

14. Both performers have changed over the years in order to make their sound
and styles mix with the new age audiences. Kanye has changed much more
than Limp Bizkit and this is a great example of a synthetic artist as they are
ultimately very commercial and aim to make as much money as possible as
their music is more marketable to the vast majority of the public and is played
on the radio far more often and so makes more money in royalties. Kayne’s
music has gone from hardcore rap to a more synthetic, synthesized sound,
which fits with today’s EDM fads. He has made a transition from rapper to
rapper/fashion designer/producer, meaning he is focusing less on his musical
career and more on other aspects of his life, like his new spouse Kim
Kardashian and his child North West.
CONCLUSION